Technologies

Nothing Ear 2 Buds Have Great Sound and Noise Canceling for $149

I had a chance to try Nothing’s new buds, which offer great rock and indie audio performance.

Nothing’s second-gen earbuds — the Ear 2 — have arrived. I’ve used them and found they offer good sound quality and solid active noise cancellation. They replace the first-gen Nothing Ear 1 buds, which were launched back in July 2021, and they’ll cost $149 (£129, which converts to roughly AU$275) when they go on sale on March 29.

Nothing is the fairly fresh tech firm founded by Carl Pei, who’s better known for having co-founded OnePlus. I’ve been impressed many of OnePlus’s products since day one, so I was excited to see what its former CEO might cook up next. Nothing’s first products including the Ear 1 buds and the Nothing Phone 1 echoed OnePlus’ philosophy of not having «to choose between performance, quality and price.»

nothing-ear-2-buds-cnet-review-7 — Andrew Lanxon/CNET

When they launched, I admired the Ear 1 buds’ stand-out design, decent sound quality and fair pricing. To be honest, not a lot has changed for the newer version. Physically there’s very little difference. The Ear 2 buds come with an almost identical (although slightly smaller) clear perspex charging case and the buds themselves are almost indistinguishable from the previous model.

Nothing Ear 2

$149 at Nothing

If you’re hoping for wild new looks from Carl Pei’s design team with every generation, you may be disappointed. But I like the look, even if it’s not a departure from the Ear 1. The buds are small and lightweight which makes them comfortable to wear for long periods. I even found them unobtrusive enough to sleep in.

nothing-ear-2-buds-cnet-review-6 — Andrew Lanxon/CNET

The touch controls have been adjusted, so you now need to squeeze the stems rather than tap them. This makes it less easy to accidentally change tracks — a small update but one I found to be helpful in everyday use. They’re also IP55 rated for water-resistance, so you don’t need to worry about wearing them in the rain or during a particularly sweaty workout.

The case charges the buds, providing a total of up to 36 hours of battery life (with noise cancelling turned off) which is a slight improvement over the 34 hours of the last model. It also has fast charging giving 8 hours of use from just 10 minutes of charging.

nothing-ear-2-buds-cnet-review-16 — The Ear 2 bud (left) and the Ear 1 bud (right). Spot the difference.

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

So what about that all-important sound quality? Nothing says its audio engineers worked hard to upgrade performance, and indeed I noticed an improvement over the last model. Don Broco’s track Pretty was handled well, for example. I could hear crystal clear cracks on the snare in the opening beats, and brightly ringing cymbals with a deep bass when it really kicked in.

The buds are a talented all-rounder, so if you tend to bounce between genres on your playlists then they’ll likely suit you well. I found the buds to perform optimally, though, with rock and indie genres, with songs like Atreyu’s Baptize sounding punchy and detailed, while Cage The Elephant’s In One Ear struck a satisfying balance between the warmth of the bass and the crunch of the guitars.

nothing-ear-2-buds-cnet-review-11 — Andrew Lanxon/CNET

There have been key updates on the software side, with the Nothing X app (available on both Android and iOS) offering sound tests to check you’re wearing the right sized ear tips and a sound profile mode that aims to automatically tune the audio to your personal needs. I tried it but for the most part found I’d rather just use the «Balanced» mode in the app’s equalizer.

Using the app to perform setup also allows you to tailor the active noise cancelling function to the frequencies you can — or can’t — hear. I found the resulting cancellation effect to be excellent. It easily removed the background hum of my computers and fans and the road noise outside my window.

nothing-ear-2-buds-cnet-review-12 — Andrew Lanxon/CNET

If you own the first-generation model already then there’s little need to upgrade to the the Ear 2 buds. They perform similarly and look identical. But if you’re in the market for a new pair of ANC earbuds, and you’ve been curious about the Nothing brand, then the Ear 2 buds are a solid option to consider.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 20, #574

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 20 No. 574.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition included A’s, B’s and C’s as clues, which made the grid look kind of funny. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Golden State sports.

Green group hint: Beantown teams.

Blue group hint: Do you believe in miracles?

Purple group hint: Keep running.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: California baseball teams.

Green group: Shortened nicknames for Boston teams.

Blue group: Associated with the Miracle on Ice.

Purple group: World marathon majors.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is California baseball teams. The four answers are A’s, Angels, Giants and Padres.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is shortened nicknames for Boston teams. The four answers are B’s, C’s, Pats and Sox.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with the Miracle on Ice. The four answers are 1980, Brooks, hockey and Lake Placid.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is world marathon majors. The four answers are Berlin, Boston, Chicago and Tokyo.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, April 20

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 20

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I found this puzzle a nice, easy one, Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: All-caps reply to a spammy political text
Answer: STOP

5A clue: Number of seasons that «Seinfeld» and «The Office» each ran
Answer: NINE

6A clue: Wild party, informally
Answer: RAGER

7A clue: Swedish furniture giant
Answer: IKEA

8A clue: Long-lasting salon treatment
Answer: PERM

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Chinese zodiac animal
Answer: SNAKE

2D clue: Chinese zodiac animal
Answer: TIGER

3D clue: Hour following midnight
Answer: ONEAM

4D clue: The «p» of m.p.h.
Answer: PER

6D clue: Tombstone letters
Answer: RIP

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for April 20, #1766

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for April 20, No. 1,766.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle has a couple of rare letters in it. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.